1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a vacuum cleaner for separating and collecting foreign materials, dust, and fine dust using a multi-cyclone.
2. Background
A vacuum cleaner is an apparatus that may generate a suction force to draw air in into the vacuum cleaner, filter the suctioned air to remove and collect foreign materials, dust, fine dust, and other contaminants contained in the air, and then discharge cleaned air back to an outside of the vacuum cleaner. Vacuum cleaners may be classified into various types based on, for example, structures or functionalities of the vacuum cleaners. For example, types of vacuum cleaners may include i) a canister type, ii) an upright type, iii) a hand type, and iv) a cylindrical floor type.
The canister type vacuum cleaner is presently the most widely used type of vacuum cleaner in households. The canister type vacuum cleaner may have a structure in which a suction unit (or suction head) and a cleaner body may be separated from each other and may be connected, for example, with a hose. In general, the canister type vacuum cleaner may be suitable for cleaning an uncarpeted floor because certain types of suction units may exclude a rotary brush such that cleaning may be performed by suctioning air through the suction unit.
In contrast to the canister type, the upright type vacuum cleaner may have a structure in which the suction unit may be integrally formed in the cleaner body. Generally, the upright type vacuum cleaner may be provided with a rotary brush in the suction unit, and thus, may be relatively advantageous for removing dust and other contaminants from a carpet.
Recently, a cyclone-type separator has been used to separate particles such as dust from an air stream suctioned into a vacuum cleaner. Known cyclone devices may pass air through at least two cyclones. The two cyclones may include, for example, a first cyclone having a filter to separate larger dust and foreign materials from an airflow, and a second cyclone that separates relatively small particles (e.g., fine dust) from the airflow passed through and filtered by the first cyclone and the filter contained therein.
Most of the foreign materials or dust that are separated through the first cyclone may fall from the filter to be collected within a dust storage unit (or dust storage chamber) provided below the filter within the dust collector of the vacuum cleaner.
However, in some cases, the foreign materials or the dust may be trapped or accumulated on the filter, thereby blocking or otherwise reducing an area of the filter through which the air can pass. This accumulation of dust and other materials on the filter may increase a load on a fan unit (or fan motor) that provides the suction force, and also may cause the filter to appear dirty and visually unappealing to the user.
Certain vacuum cleaners may be equipped with a mechanism such as a cleaning unit (such as a wiper or filter agitator) that removes foreign materials or dust attached on an outer circumferential surface of a filter. However, when cleaning the filter, some foreign materials or dust may be caught by the cleaning unit and, thus, may accumulate on the cleaning unit without moving to the dust storage unit for storage and removal.
In addition, a variety of air flows including a high-speed rotation flow due to the suction force of the fan unit may be present within the dust collector (e.g., through the multiple cyclones). The variety of air flow may interact to create eddies or other flow patterns that may obstruct the introduction of foreign materials and dust into the dust storage unit. Also, the dust and other materials collected in the dust storage unit may be agitated by the air flows such that some of the collected dust or other materials may float to flow backward or scatter out of the dust storage unit to the filter, eventually of blocking some of the through holes of the filter. Consequently, inefficiencies in collecting the dust or other contaminants in the dust storage unit may cause deterioration of not only a dust collecting performance but also may reduce a cleaning performance of the vacuum cleaner. Therefore, a structure capable of preventing the backward flow or scattering of the dust that has been filtered by the first cyclone and collected in the dust storage unit may be desirable.
An example of a known vacuum cleaner is described in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2004-0023417 (published on Mar. 18, 2004). The above reference is incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.